One Word
by opaq
Summary: One word takes a long time to say...


One Word

A skinny shadow lurked over a brick wall, every now and then growing small, to a big stature. Quietly, the person stepped out into the rain, head bowed down and shadow still in place. He turned to the small building next to him, and pulled out a pair of golden keys, fit to slide easily into the lock. The door opened with a silent creak, and the teenager stepped inside slightly, studying the inside closely. No one was there. Seeing this, he flipped on the lights and looked around the empty restaurant, seeing only a small bar and a lone circle table with two chairs seated in the middle of the room. Without a word, he headed for the back to get his uniform, a slight rain puddle collecting behind his feet. Passing the green curtain leading to the back, a sudden flash of light covered his once black body, covering from his toes to his head, its transformation already ending. When it was finished, he was now a frail, skinny teenager aged around 18, with dark fuchsia hair and dim gray skin, and a tee shirt with leather jeans as his clothing. Quietly, he levitated a green cloth to his hand, his work clothes, and slid them on around his shoulders. Remembering his weapons, the worker slid his two pistols onto the counter, then a long, folded in knife, all had an engraved **I **on it, signaling the teenagers name- Ishmael, but he mostly preferred Ish seeing that his parents never lived to see Ish walk, talk, or even survive the counting days. Ish quietly headed out of the back room to the lit up kitchen. He sat down onto the stool next to the counter, and exhaled a sigh.

Ishmael already knew that it was to be another quiet day, a Sunday, rainy morning, no one seemed to be coming out. Pouring himself some of his homemade brew of herbal tea, he could hear commotion starting outside, causing the mugs on the shelves to vibrate slightly. He set his thermos down, now standing; he walked in a fast pace to the door. To his astonishment, a brilliant shine of light penetrated across a humanoid, apparently a middle-aged villain, his energy descending upon the five beat up bodies laid in front of him. What caught his attention was the blood running across the streets, coming from the teenagers. One was a cyborg, parts badly blackened, his arm twisted in half; the other two boys, one a green changeling curled over the robot, the other a masked one struggling to get up, matched the description. Another pair, two girls, seemed just as in a pathetic position in the elder's wake; A peach-skinned alien with orange-red hair was settled in a pile of excrement, and a robed girl with gray, pale skin was the target as well. Quickly changing back to his demon form, Ish countered the perpetrator with a swift kick to the chest. This sent the attacker flailing aimlessly with his energy balls, missing him almost too completely, Ish then twisted his body downwards, the shadowy hands of his pushing against the gravel, sending the feet ramming against the villains face. Landing abruptly, Ish noticed that the cloth girl rose to her feet, hobbling slightly on one foot and cradling her arm with the other. The perturbed violator, now a crimson red faced old man, threw punches at Ishmael, not noticing the fact that he still had his arm extended. One of his hands landed into Ish's palm, and the other barely hitting the black, shadowy face. He then yanked the villain's hand to the left side, and brought Ish's free hand to his back, knocking the baffled human to his knees, then to the ground, knocked out cold. It was now almost 12 am already, Ishmael's lunch break nearing, so he started for the teashop, when a hand grasped his shoulder. Almost startled, Ish turned to see the masked teenager with a straight expression painted on his dirty face,

"Wait…we need to talk…" He said with a dramatic tone. Taking a look past him, Ish could see the others had arose to their feet, each just as speechless. Reluctant, he nodded a 'yes', and followed the team into a light, opaque car, not knowing what would happen next.

_Raven's POV _

It was still raining. We were all now packed into the t-car with the newcomer, each of us soaked to the bone. Cyborg, who couldn't drive because of his arm, stared blankly into the stranger's eyes, while Beast boy rattled on with his tidbits, Starfire listened, and Robin manned the wheel. I, deep in thought, looked out the window while every now and then glancing at the teenager demon from the reflection on the windowpane. Now pulling up into the driveway, the car came to a stop, and all of us piled out. Lingering behind, I wanted only to make a conversation with the dark member. Seeing me there, his eyes slightly narrowed to a slit, I cleared my throat nervously,

"Uh, what is, your…name?" I asked, trying to bring up an excuse to study him.

Saying nothing in return, hesighed, and levitated ahead of us to the door, waiting for the door to open. I felt a tad angry at the two in front, but a more of a pity for Ish, who now glowered in his own shadow. Thinking no more, I bow my head down, pulling my hood over my head, and hiding the sad look that filled my eyes.


End file.
